Does Race Still Matter to African-American Children in Obama’s America?
On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the first African American to be sworn in as President of the United States. In the days that followed, a debate has emerged over whether the nation is entering a new “post-racial” phase. While actor Will Smith claims that “all our excuses have been removed” and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina declared that “every child has lost every excuse,” New York Times columnist Charles Blow has strenuously objected that black children face “enormous and ingrained obstacles.” Which view is more accurate? How are we to square the election of the nation’s first black…
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